Simone De La Rue - Body By Simone: The 8-Week Total Body Makeover Plan

For my mum.

And all those who
dare to dream.

Contents

by Grace Hightower De Niro

When I came to Simone three years ago, I was heavier than I had ever been in my life. Like so many women, I kept putting everything and everyone else in front of me. I was busy to a fault, taking care of my husband and kids, and was preoccupied with everyones needs except my own. I kept saying, I will exercise tomorrow, Ill get more sleep tomorrow, Ill eat better tomorrow. And before I knew it I didnt recognize myself. Now, I am a curvaceous woman, and I know I can never be a Skinny Minnie, but I wanted to put everything neatly in the right places for my body and my frame. I wanted to lose weight and tone up; and, moreover, I wanted to feel better.

I had been doing regular gym workouts, but there was no motivation or incentive or encouragementthe trainers just stood there, counting off repetitions, and I was really tired of machines. I believe your body is a machine, and that is what you should be moving and working, not some metal pulleys and handles. And I have always loved dancing, so when a friend suggested Simone and her dance-based program, of course I was excited. This could be the workout I was looking for!

And it was. Simmys personality was so amazingly upbeat and kind, and I immediately connected with her. She literally did the workout alongside me, encouraging me and motivating me. She was so full of energy that it was contagious, and after I powered through the first session I was hungry for more.

But regardless of Simones bubbly attitude, for a long while I did not want to look at myself in the mirror; I realized that I had not been loyal and true to myself for some time. I had always been an athlete and had kept my weight within a certain range, but I had gone way past my comfort zone. I avoided my reflection and was disappointed in myself that I had allowed this to happen.

But Simmy was so patient and so encouraging, I really started to enjoy the workouts. I gradually looked in the mirror more and more and found that I liked to watch how I was moving. I began to feel the love I was giving to myself, and the more I felt the love, the more I could look at myself in the mirror. Soon enough I saw myself transforming. Of course there was the physical transformation: I lost weight, and my arms, legs, waist, and shoulders got very toned. My posture improved tremendously and I was able to wear the fabulous clothes I loved and had so much enjoyed wearing before. But beyond the physical, there was also a significant mental transformation for me as well. I reconnected with myself, and began to appreciate my body for what it could do and how it was shaped. I loved to watch it move and groove and took pride in my curves and tone.

These days I cannot go more than a day without doing a Body By Simone workout. No, seriously, I cant! It is my drug and my sanity. This program is freeing and rejuvenating and simply fabulous.

And now this transformative program is available to everyone, right here in these pages. This book is for youmom, wife, girlfriend, and businesswoman. BBS is something you can do for yourself that will make you look and feel better. Eventually, like me, you will get to the point where you are empowered; you will be loving, loyal, and true to yourself, because you are incredible, and that is all that matters. Simone and her program can help get you there. You just have to open the book and go for it.

Best,

Grace

LERMONTOV : Why do you want to dance?

VICKY: Why do you want to live?

LERMONTOV: Well, I dont know exactly why, but... I must.

VICKY: Thats my answer too.

FROM THE RED SHOES

I began dancing when I was three. I dont know why I was compelled to do soperhaps I saw a tutu or some blush-pink ballet shoes in a shop and decided that I needed to wear them; perhaps it was something deeper. Who knows the mind of a child? Thankfully, my mother indulged me, and I began taking classes immediately after I voiced my desire.

Dance became my life. I lived it, breathed it, and was totally immersed in it to the point that I was dance. I remember so vividly how it made me feeljoyful and free and intensely alive. Every day after school when other kids would have playdates or parties, I was at ballet. Or tap. Or jazz. When I got my first pair of pointe shoes at age thirteen, I was so excited that I tucked them into bed with me and slept with them! I still remember the feel of that bright pink satin, so smooth and shiny and perfect. Sewing on the ribbons was a religious act, and putting the shoes on my feet transported me to heaven.

While many kids grow out of activities, my dedication to dance only grew stronger as I aged. My high school friends longed for Johnny Depp, but my locker was plastered with photographs of Mikhail Baryshnikov. (Years later, when I finally got to meet him, I was too awed to even speak. I am rarely starstruck, but he left me at a loss for words!)

At age eighteen I auditioned for the Australian company of Cats on a whim and landed the part of the White Cat. From that point on, I became a musical-theater girl, and spent years touring with various shows in Germany, Asia, Londons West End, and Australia. I finally wound up in New York, dancing on Broadway. I spent countless hours learning, rehearsing, performing, and then doing it all again the next day. I was in heaven. I was doing what I loved and loving what I did.

While I watched many of my friends and colleagues become sidelined by injuries over the years, I stayed consistently healthy despite the grueling schedule. It was not luck, and I wasnt shrouded in some sort of injury-repellent force field. Rather it was my pre- and post-performance routines and rituals that kept injury at bay. Early in my career I began practicing Pilates and yoga and studied human anatomy. I created my own unique movements and exercises based on what Id learned, and I did them without fail before and after my rehearsals and shows. This routine kept me injury free, flexing and strengthening my muscles and joints in healing ways, while simultaneously developing a core of steel. As a happy side effect, this routine also gave me a very fit physique: I was lean, strong, and in peak cardio condition.

Once I retired from performing, I began a career in personal training and used the routines I had devised while I was a performer to help my clients achieve results. I found that my method, which uses mostly body weight and a little resistance in the form of bands and small weights, worked as fantastically for them as it had for me. They soon developed lean, lithe, toned bodies.

In addition to their physical transformations, I also noticed that many of my clients began standing up straighter, looking themselves in the eye in the mirror and connecting to themselves in the present moment. This was something I had not been expecting, but time and again, I saw women switch from averting their eyes from their reflection to engaging with themselves and watching their bodies closely, carefully, and thoughtfully as they moved and danced. These women were learning to love themselves and their bodies while they were getting in shape, which sent me over the moon with happiness. I absolutely love that what started for me as an injury-prevention plan has since turned into the ultimate girl-power program, something that women can use to transform their bodies and their attitudes all at once.

Today, I no longer have the desire to step onstage or hear the thunderous roar of an audience that was my lifeblood for so long. Instead, I live to see that joy and self-recognition in a class full of women doing a dance cardio workout, or the pride and confidence that radiates from a client as she reaches her fitness goals. These things inspire me more than performing ever could, and I hope that I can now reach you, my reader, in this way, too.